/*-
 *  * Copyright 2016 Skymind, Inc.
 *  *
 *  *    Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 *  *    you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 *  *    You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *  *
 *  *        http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *  *
 *  *    Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 *  *    distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 *  *    WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 *  *    See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 *  *    limitations under the License.
 */

package org.datavec.api.io.serializers;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.OutputStream;

/**
 * <p>
 * Provides a facility for serializing objects of type <T> to an
 * {@link OutputStream}.
 * </p>
 *
 * <p>
 * Serializers are stateful, but must not buffer the output since
 * other producers may write to the output between calls to
 * {@link #serialize(Object)}.
 * </p>
 * @param <T>
 */
public interface Serializer<T> {
    /**
     * <p>Prepare the serializer for writing.</p>
     */
    void open(OutputStream out) throws IOException;

    /**
     * <p>Serialize <code>t</code> to the underlying output stream.</p>
     */
    void serialize(T t) throws IOException;

    /**
     * <p>Close the underlying output stream and clear up any resources.</p>
     */
    void close() throws IOException;
}
